Chris Dodd to Deliver Keynote Address at Canadian Industry Confab

The MPAA topper is expected to focus on common ground for the Canadian and U.S. entertainment sectors, despite irritants like video piracy and runaway production.

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA – MPAA topper Chris Dodd, who embodies Hollywood to Canadian industry players, will be the keynote speaker at the annual conference for local indie producers in Ottawa.

Dodd, a former U.S. Senator, is expected to focus on common issues that impact the Canadian and American production sectors, including emerging digital technologies, when he addresses the 23rd annual Prime Time conference in March.

At the same time, Dodd is expected to touch on thorny issues like video piracy and generous film tax credits that continues to attract the major studios to Canada for location shooting.

The conference, organized by the Canadian Media Production Association, was last addressed by an MPAA head when Dan Glickman appeared the industry confab in 2006, and before that the late Jack Valenti delivered a keynote speech in 2002.

The Prime Time conference, which draws a who’s who of Canadian film and TV production, is set to run from March 6 to 8, 2013.